VIEWPOINT
The Business Pilot Barometer offers a monthly analysis of the key trends defining window and door retail. It draws on real industry data collated by Business Pilot, the cloud-based business management tool developed by installers for installers.To find out more see www.businesspilot.co.uk/barometer
The Business Pilot Barometer Q1 2022 – down but not out
to move. If they aren’t spending as big, homeowners are, however, still spending. Average sales were up almost 15% last month, leads were also up 14%, reversing the fall recorded in February on January.
By Neil Cooper-Smith, Senior Analyst, Business Pilot
IIt’s a big figure but probably only reinforces something that retailers have instinctively known. Average order values crashed in the last month – by more than 50%. This is consistent with what we have picked up anecdotally from our customers. Big ticket items and whole house replacements have been harder to get across the line, but single items, replacement doors, distress purchases, have continued 40 WINDOW NEWS | APRIL 2022
So, what can we take from this month’s figures? Homeowners are definitely more cautious. The Government safety net – furlough – has been pulled from underneath them. The Stamp Duty breaks aren’t there, and the housing market has slowed down – at least in the sense that the number of transactions have fallen. Despite this end-users are still exhibiting a desire or an aspiration to buy new windows and doors – their resilience financial or otherwise, longer term, is more difficult to gauge.
